China voices strong indignation, objection to Obama-Dalai meeting

BEIJING, July 17 (Xinhua) -- China voiced its strong indignation and stern objection to U.S. President Barack Obama's meeting with the Dalai Lama and demanded the U.S. side to adopt immediate measures to wipe out the impact.

"Such an act has grossly interfered in China's internal affairs, hurt the feelings of Chinese people and damaged the Sino-American relations," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Ma Zhaoxu said in a written statement released early Sunday morning.

"We demand the U.S. side to seriously consider China's stance, immediately adopt measures to wipe out the baneful impact, stop interfering in China's internal affairs and cease to connive and support anti-China separatist forces that seek 'Tibet independence'," Ma urged in the statement.

Ma said the issue regarding Tibet concerns exclusively to China's internal affairs. The Dalai Lama is in nature a political exile who has been engaged in secessionist activities in the name of religion.

"China objects firmly to any foreign leader's meeting with the Dalai Lama in any form and opposes to any country, or anyone, to interfere in China's internal affairs by using the Dalai Lama," the spokesman stressed.

The U.S. allowance of Dalai Lama to visit the country and arrangement of its top leader's meeting with him has grossly violated the norms governing international relations and gone against the repeated commitments made by the U.S. government, Ma said, noting that fostering a sound and developing China-U.S. relations needs the concerted efforts made from both sides.

Despite the strong objections from China, Obama met with the Dalai Lama on Saturday local time. According to Ma, China's Foreign Ministry and the Chinese embassy in the United States have lodged solemn representations to the U.S. side in Beijing and Washington DC.